Certainly it would have to have seen some barrel time to be palatable if fractional freezing process is actually used. The addition of club soda makes it even smoother and lighter, perfect for those who dont want their cocktail to feel too heavy. Made with Lairds AppleJack and apple cider, this cocktail is a refreshing twist on the traditional warm apple cider. We suggest you reserve judgement on applejack until mixed. The AppleJack Cider is a perfect cocktail to sip on during the winter season. The writer says, “…applejack (and its aged version, apple brandy)…” I understand there may be some standards of identification regulating what is called applejack and apple brandy, but as far as I know applejack is and was aged. The most common applejack is a blended variety produced by Lairds. It’s also notable that fractional freezing only seems to be mentioned with respect to applejack, which strikes me as a bit suspect considering that surely colonists could and, I have to believe, would have done this with fermented grains, grapes, etc. I hear the trope “applejack gets its name from the widespread practice of increasing alcoholic strength through freezing” as though it’s an accepted truth, but I wonder if anyone has done any actual research revealing that this is true. I don’t see a lot of places in the US having enough 52F/30C swings in a season to get up to spirit proof. It also has to get really cold for this to work well – somewhere in the range of -20F/-29C. The article suggests it was done through successive freeze-thaw cycles, but I’m not so sure that a typical winter has enough of those to get up to 40% ABV. The company produces the vast majority of all Applejack and American Apple Brandy on the market, which have been enjoyed since colonial times and are equally prized by today’s mixology community. I have my doubts as to whether it’s possible to get ABVs up around 40% (never mind 50%) using fractional freezing at outdoor temperatures. I wonder how common it ever was to make applejack as a spirit by fractional freezing. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. The Society is a 501 (c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. Nice to see applejack get some good press. Applejack - Spirits & Cocktails - eGullet Forums Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters.
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